CAW members in the Greater Vancouver Area are gearing up for the 2010 Vancouver Pride Parade, set to take place on August 1. Parade organizers are expecting crowds of over 500,000 to attend the parade, the latest in a string of summer Pride events and one of the largest organized parades in the country.
This year's CAW float will consist of a hybrid-engine public transit bus that is built by fellow CAW members at New Flyer in Winnipeg and that will be decorated with CAW flags and Pride banners.
June General Meeting and BBQ
Executive members Eric Derksen and Jim Sadlemyer stand at the graveside of Ginger Goodwin June 19, 2010 during Miner's Days in Cumberland B.C. Brother Derksen laid a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the local. To find out more about Ginger Goodwin Click Here . Also attending was brother Arthur Farquharson who provided entertainment.
Laid off members from the DHL group got to together to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of adjustment center being opened. “the adjustment center has been a great success. We have seen close to 90 percent of our members find employment during a tough economic time.” said Mario Santos DHL Unit Chair who attended the event along with Local 114 President Gord McGrath. (back row)
Gord Piper (CAW Local 114 Representative) had Jeneece Edroff come by the Victoria office to pick up the $500.00 donation cheque from our local to her new cause. Raising enough money to open “Jeneece Place”
Supporting Jeneece Place
Jeneece Place is a project of the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children. The Foundation is leading the campaign to build Jeneece Place and help Jeneece realize her dream. The Foundation is contributing its substantial experience in fundraising, new construction, and programs to assist. The Foundation is raising the funds needed to design, build, equip, furnish and operate Jeneece Place. The Foundation will own Jeneece Place and will be responsible for choosing an operator to manage it once it is open. All donations to Jeneece Place will go to the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children to support this Foundation project. The Foundation has set up a separate fund for donations to Jeneece Place.
Jeneece Edroff is a phenomenal young lady with an inspiring story to tell.
Jeneece was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis at the young age of three. The disease causes tumors to grow on nerve pathways anywhere in the body, and in Jeneece’s case, they are growing off almost every nerve root coming out from her spine. As a result, her vertebrae are extremely thin and unsupportive and she has had to wear a body brace to help better support her spine and alleviate some of her pain.
Over the years, Jeneece has undergone numerous painful surgeries and chemotherapy to help treat her tumors, and at one point doctors believed that she would never walk again, but she proved them wrong.
Now 15 years old, Jeneece continues to undergo treatments and surgeries, which help her attend school, spend time with her family and friends and of course, set ambitious goals, which she has proven time and time again that she can achieve.
Local 114 Wins 2 CALM Awards!!!
Jim Sadlemyer(far left 2nd row from back) poses with other CAW
communicators in Windsor Ontario shortly after CAW Local 114 won two awards
from The Canadian Association of Labour Media. One was for the
"Live Long and Prosper, Unionize." t-shirts and the other was for
the 101 Easy Ways to be a Labour Activist ebook. For more on the
awards Click Here.
The contents of this cartoon do not necessarilly reflect the position or expressions of CAW Local 114. To see more cartoons Click Here.
Tell Harper: Don’t Mess with Our Census!
As many of you have now heard, the Harper government announced its plan to eliminate the “Long Form Questionnaire” in the next Canada Census. In its place, the Conservatives propose to send out a different survey, to more people, but make the responses voluntary – which will have a direct and unavoidable impact on the integrity, reliability and comparability of the survey’s results. This move has sparked an unprecedented outcry from Canadians of all stripes. It’s even prompted the head of StatsCan, Munir Sheikh, to resign his post.
Raise your voice! Help save the Census Long Form!
Some background…
The Long Form Questionnaire (which has been in place for decades) provides vital information on Canadians, their health and social status and the status of their communities. It gathers data on important things like household income, housing, educational status, jobs and a host of other areas. This info helps guide Canadian policy-makers, businesses, planners, researchers and government officials in their quest to make informed decisions on the use of public resources, to build our country.
In a shrewd move, the federal Conservatives tried (unsuccessfully) to side-step public debate by burying notice of this change in the Canada Gazette, with no prior discussion or public mention. This has only irked Canadians even more! The list of groups who have expressed public outrage to this decision includes the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the National Statistical Council, the Canadian Economics Association, and many others.
Why does the Harper government want to change this survey?
When asked, Conservative government officials say they’re making the change for privacy reasons. Government shouldn’t ‘force’ anyone to fill out a survey, no matter how important it is. And, according to them, they’re acting on the wishes of Canadians who’ve expressed widespread complaints that the survey is “coercive” and “intrusive”.
Well, in fact, the overwhelming majority of Canadians don’t see it this way. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner received only 3 complaints since the year 2000 on issues related to the Census questionnaire. There’s also no record of this issue being raised through a petition, or other collaborative means, in the House of Commons.
Why did they not properly inform Canadians before publishing notice of this change?
Said Harper’s Minister of Industry, Tony Clement: “I don’t accept that every time you make a change on every matter, you have to shout it from every rooftop.”
Hmmm… you don’t really have to shout. It’d be fine if you just let us know, though.
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives researcher, Armine Yalnizyan, who argues for maintaining the current Long Form Questionnaire, says “this move (by the federal government” will weaken the quality and availability of data that tells us what is happening to employment, immigration, housing, incomes and education – the very issues that beg for the best policy decisions possible as we inch our way through recovery.”
Let’s stop Harper in his tracks now! The movement to save the Census Long Form is gaining momentum. You can get involved, here’s how:
